Madness
by obsessive-compulsive-mcdork
Summary: For some reason, Cana and Mira really want Lucy to use a love potion on Erza. Lucy agrees, thinking the potion won't even work. So of course, it comes as a huge surprise when Erza suddenly becomes a bit crazy and obsessive over Lucy. Kinda like Juvia 2.0, except a bit more lovestruck, if that's even possible. But maybe Lucy doesn't mind it. Maybe.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Love Potion?

Lucy knew she was in trouble the moment she walked into the guild and was met with Cana's evil grin and Mira's sickeningly sweet smile.

_At least I won't be bored today,_ she thought as she sat beside Cana at the counter. Mira gave her some water and continued smiling at her. _Crap, this is getting creepy…_

"So guys, what's up?" Lucy asked, not really wanting to know the answer since it probably wouldn't be anything good. Especially if their expressions were anything to go on.

"Well Lucy, now that you mention it," Cana started, "I went to the store this morning and saw something interesting, which I just had to buy."

Well this wasn't going the way Lucy had expected it to. She'd expected something about her love life, or lack of. It wasn't that she didn't try, but none of the guys seemed to catch her eye. Even though Mira, ever the matchmaker, would always bring up how it seemed someone liked her, Lucy couldn't care less. One week it was Natsu, the next Gray; it was actually pretty persistent of Mira. As for Cana, well Cana went along with Mira's matchmaking and enjoyed teasing Lucy endlessly.

"And what was this thing you bought?" Lucy's curiosity got the better of her as she relaxed since it didn't seem that she'd be subjected to another round of matchmaking.

But Cana smirked, instantly making Lucy uneasy. "Oh, just a love potion."

_Yep, there it is. _

"I see," Lucy said, resigning herself to whatever her friends had in store for her.

Mira finally spoke. "Oh come on Lucy, this'll be fun."

"Oh is this love potion not for me?"

"Well…" Mira trailed off.

"Lucy, you really needa loosen up," Cana interrupted, smiling. "I mean, it's just for fun. Don't you remember what happened when Juvia tried to use that love potion on Gray? This'll probably be a repeat. It'll be funny."

Lucy nodded. "Alright, I'm in," she smiled.

"Great," Mira said cheerfully. "And I already have the perfect person to use this on." Mira clapped her hands excitedly as she glanced at her chosen victim.

Lucy and Cana followed her gaze, only to see it land on Erza, who sat eating her cake in peace.

"But Erza?" Lucy objected. She didn't want to hurt Erza, as she was one of her closest friends and Lucy would feel guilty about betraying her friend like that.

Cana grinned, "It's just for fun, and you know what, it might not even work."

Lucy considered this. _It's not like Erza's gonna get hurt or anything, right? There's no harm in doing this or anything. And it'll be fine…_

"Okay I guess," Lucy relented.

Mira squealed excitedly, happy that Lucy would be following her plan. Cana smiled and pulled the potion out of her bag. And Lucy, well Lucy was trying to calm the sudden nervousness she felt.

"Okay, so in order for this to work, Erza has to drink some of this." Cana looked to Mira, who immediately nodded and brought out a cup of water.

"Shouldn't we use something else? Instead of water, I mean," Lucy questioned.

"Nah," Cana answered, "The potion's clear."

"Alright," Lucy shrugged.

She watched as Mira handed Cana the cup. Carefully, Cana poured the potion in, trying not to put too much. That is, until someone suddenly bumped into her and the little bottle containing the potion was emptied out into the cup.

"Hey!" Cana yelled, angrily looking for whoever had just pushed her. But Lucy gasped loudly, bringing Cana's attention back.

"I don't think the amount changes anything," Mira smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry Lucy. You know Cana and I wouldn't do anything to hurt Erza or anyone in the guild."

_That's true,_ Lucy thought._ If there was any way this would harm Erza, then they wouldn't be doing this…_

Mira took the cup from Cana and hurriedly mixed the contents within it. "There, all done. Now here Lucy," she said, giving the cup to Lucy.

"What?! Why are you giving it to me?"

Cana smirked at Lucy's wide eyes and confused expression before answering her. "You're gonna give it to Erza of course."

"Wouldn't it make more sense that Mira gives it to Erza, since she is the server?" Lucy argued.

For some reason, she had a weird feeling about this whole thing, not to mention Cana's and Mira's suspiciousness earlier.

Mira pouted at Lucy's question. "But I'm serving everyone else, now you want me to go all the way to Erza's table and give her this?"

Lucy shook her head in disbelief. _First of all, this is your plan, not mine! And secondly, you've been standing here this whole time, not serving anyone,_ Lucy thought.

"Besides, if it's you giving it to her, she won't object or anything," Cana added.

"I guess. Okay fine guys," Lucy said.

She stood up, adjusted her skirt and looked at Cana and Mira's smiling, mischievous faces again before grabbing the cup and heading to Erza.

Once she was out of hearing range, Cana spoke again, her eyes watching Lucy slowly walk away. "You know Mira, she's probably gonna hate us for this," she grinned.

Mira just smiled. "It's not like she'll find out our plan. Besides, everything will be fine."

"You're crazy, just like your plans," Cana shook her head.

Meanwhile, Lucy had been slowly making her way to Erza's table. She breathed in deeply, feeling the nervousness once again. But there was also a feeling of excitement; she wanted to see how the potion would make Erza react.

Sitting down across from Erza, Lucy smiled when the scarlet-haired girl glanced up at her.

"Lucy," Erza smiled, giving Lucy her entire attention.

"Hey Erza. I brought you a drink," Lucy offered, handing the cup to Erza who took it with a grateful expression.

"Just what I needed," Erza said, drinking from the cup as Lucy watched on.

After taking a few sips, Erza put the cup down, and looked at her blonde companion. Erza couldn't help but notice Lucy's anxious and waiting expression.

"Yes?" Erza asked.

"Oh nothing, it's nothing," Lucy quickly responded.

_I guess it didn't work after all…_

"I feel…" The older girl started, but let her sentence trail off.

"What is it?"

Lucy suddenly felt even more excited as she watched Erza look down and blink.

"I feel off…"

Erza blinked, as if trying to focus. Lucy wasn't sure if this was how the potion worked or what was going on.

"Um, Erza?"

Erza suddenly looked up at Lucy, startling her. "Lucy."

"Um…"

"Lucy! It's you!" Erza cried out, grabbing everyone's attention as she tackled Lucy onto the floor.

AN: Okay so I suck at writing but I really like the Erza/Lucy ship and I noticed there's not that many fanfics for them and I just had to change that. So bear with me and my terrible writing please. And shall I continue this?


	2. Chapter 2

AN: This chapter took a bit longer to write since I got stuck a few times, but updates shall come quicker!

And many thanks to all who read, favorited, and followed my story. Special thanks goes to all who reviewed! Your reviews made my day and encouraged me to continue this.

Sooo... enjoy.

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><p>Chapter 2: What The Actual Heck Is Going On?<p>

"Lucy! It's you!" Erza cried out, grabbing everyone's attention as she tackled Lucy onto the floor.

"Uh..." Lucy could do nothing but lay there, shocked, as Erza hugged her tightly.

"Oh Lucy, I missed you so much!" the redhead sighed, her arms still wrapped around Lucy tightly.

"I literally see you every day Erza."

"The last time we spoke was yesterday night, which was several hours ago," Erza pouted.

_I don't... understand. But I'm pretty sure this wasn't supposed to happen_, Lucy thought wryly.

She realized everyone's attention was still focused on her and Erza. Oddly enough, Lucy couldn't say she cared since the only important thing in that moment seemed to be that Erza's arms were tightly wrapped around her, even if it was a bit uncomfortable due to Erza's hard armor. Of course it wasn't the first time the redhead had hugged Lucy; they are close friends after all. But Lucy felt like there was something different to this hug, something she couldn't quite describe.

The blonde shook her head, clearing her thoughts and being brought back to reality as her initial shock at the whole situation wore off. Lucy chuckled, a bit surprised she wasn't in more pain since she was just tackled by a girl in armor. But Lucy sure wasn't complaining.

"Hey Erza, you're kinda hurting me with your armor."

Almost immediately, the redhead began apologizing profusely as she stood up and pulled Lucy up with her. "I'm sorry Lucy. I was careless. It's my fault. Please, hit me," she said, bowing her head.

Lucy, already used to Erza's unique way of apologizing, just shook her head. "No, it's fine Erza, don't worry about it."

Erza suddenly looked up, her expression troubled. "But I hurt you, Lucy."

"Erza, I already said it's okay."

"Oh thank you Lucy!" The redhead smiled, rushing to hug Lucy again.

"Erza… your armor…" Lucy muttered as Erza had pulled Lucy against her hard armor.

"Oh right," Erza said, requipping into her normal clothes before continuing to hug Lucy.

_Well okay then…_

Lucy was once again reminded of the fact that everyone was basically watching her when she glanced around and saw her fellow guild mates huddled around her with amused expressions.

"What's with Erza?" Natsu asked, breaking the silence as he pointed to the redhead who had yet to release her hold on Lucy.

"Yeah," Gray added, "she's not so... clingy. Like ever."

There were a few muttered agreements, as this really wasn't the Titania's usual behavior. Sure she hugged people, but this was a new level of clinginess.

"She..." Lucy trailed off, not knowing what to say or how to explain the situation without mentioning the love potion.

"Erza may or may not have drank something that is now affecting her," Cana interrupted, saving the blonde from having to answer.

"That's not suspicious at all," Levy said, frowning.

"Well you know Erza," Mira said cheerfully as she suddenly appeared in front of everyone, "She can be a bit dense and not realize things." Mira smiled brightly, as if this was something completely normal and bound to happen occasionally.

_No one's gonna fall for that_, Lucy internally scoffed, _being dense and something like this happening? People can't seriously just accept that answer. _

But apparently they could.

The crowd around her dispersed, all walking back to their tables to continue their usual activities except for Cana, Mira, and Erza of course.

"What the actual heck. How did they actually accept that explanation?" Lucy asked, confused.

"If that's what Mira says happened, then that's what happened," Cana grinned, while Mira just blushed.

"I guess." Lucy knew better than to question the evil S-class matchmaker, otherwise known as Mira.

"So when do you plan on letting go of Lucy, Erza?" Mira asked.

Lucy somehow forgot that Erza was still hugging her. The redhead was just so warm and soft that Lucy had gotten comfortable.

"Never," Erza answered, holding Lucy tighter as if to prove her statement.

Cana snorted at the answer. "Well we might as well go sit at the counter."

The other girls agreed, so while Cana and Mira started walking away, Lucy tried to get Erza off of her. She had finally pried the redhead off only for said redhead to cling onto Lucy's arm as they walked.

_This is weird. She's suddenly all clingy and she hasn't even left my side since she tackled me..._

Lucy sat at the counter beside Cana, while Erza sat on Lucy's other side. The blonde couldn't help but stare at Erza as she still clung to Lucy's arm, an expression of complete and utter content on her face.

_She looks so cute_, Lucy thought.

"That's nice," Cana smirked.

Apparently Lucy had accidentally spoken her thoughts.

The blonde blushed, but ignored the jibe. "Did you know this is what would happen?" She asked, looking at Cana.

"Well it is a love potion, really what'd you expect?" The brunette joked, shrugging nonchalantly.

Lucy opened her mouth to argue when Erza spoke up.

"What potion?" She asked curiously, looking to Lucy for an explanation.

"About that..." Lucy couldn't meet Erza's eyes, especially since the redhead was sitting quite close to her and still had their arms linked.

"It's nothing for you to worry about," Mira interrupted as she momentarily distracted the girls by offering them drinks. Mira shot Lucy a look, making sure Lucy didn't speak of the potion in front of Erza.

Lucy, having gotten the message, nodded and turned to Erza. "Maybe Cana and I should talk in private..." Lucy gestured to the redhead's hold on her, trying to get Erza to understand that she should let go.

Erza's eyes widened in realization. "Oh. I understand."

As Erza retracted her arm and stood up, Lucy sighed in relief. "Oh good, okay so-"

"I understand," Erza interrupted, "that you would rather spend time with Cana than me."

"What?" Lucy looked confusedly at Cana and Mira, who tried to hold back their laughter at Erza's completely serious face.

"Erza that's, that's not what I meant," Lucy stuttered, trying to explain.

"It sure seems that way," Erza replied, a dark aura surrounding her. "Cana, it seems you are my new love rival."

At that, Cana choked on her drink while Mira finally burst into laughter. "Um what?" Cana said between coughs.

_This is not good,_ Lucy thought, watching the unfolding scene from between the two girls with apprehension.

"You, my new love rival, shall not be allowed to live and take away my Lucy."

_Wait, what?! Her Lucy? I'm no one's Lucy! And love rivals?! This needs to stop._

Erza requipped her sword, her dark aura growing while Cana shrunk back in fear.

_Okay, really not good!_

"Erza!" Lucy jumped up, standing close to Erza to bring her back to reality. She hesitantly reached out to place her hand over the requip mage's sword, trying to stop her from doing anything crazy.

"Lucy?"

As soon as the blonde had stood up and yelled Erza's name, Erza's dark aura dissipated.

_That was a close one_, Lucy internally sighed, relieved.

"Look Erza, I just want to talk to Cana about-"

"You want to talk to her?!" Erza interrupted again, with tears welling up in her eyes, "why not me? Am I not good enough for you to talk to Lucy?"

"What?!" Lucy had no idea what was even going on anymore; first the redhead was incredibly mad and ready to kill Cana, and now she's crying?

Tears were flowing freely down Erza's cheeks as she turned to Lucy, grabbing her arm and leaning on her. "Why don't you want to talk to me?" She sobbed.

The blonde felt her shirt become wet with her friend's tears, so she hurriedly wrapped her arms around Erza.

"That's not it at all Erza. Of course I want to talk to you, I love talking to you. I was just gonna ask Cana some questions about... um, a mission. Yeah, a request she got."

She moved her hand on Erza's back reassuringly, forgetting everything else as she comforted Erza.

"That's it?" Erza asked, her tear-filled eyes looking up to Lucy's brown ones.

"Yes, that's it Erza." Lucy patted Erza's head, the same way you'd do to a child who'd been crying.

"Okay, I trust you Lucy," The older girl nodded before finally moving away from the blonde. She stopped beside Cana and glared at her a bit before walking away.

Lucy exhaled wearily at her friend's crazy emotions.

"Well wasn't that nice," Cana commented.

"Considering you're not dead, I think it turned out alright," Lucy said sarcastically.

"Well look on the bright side," Mira smiled, amused, "you, Lucy, have quite an effect on Erza."

"Ha, don't make me laugh," Lucy grumbled.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Okay so I really did plan to update quickly and all, but then I found out I had essays to write and other things to do, so I've been a bit busy lately. With that being said, I'm really sorry. This chapter was a bit rushed, as I still have work to do, so I apologize if it's a bit weird. And so, we shall continue...

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><p>Chapter 3: Embarrassment is the Feeling of the Day<p>

"Okay, so tell me more about this potion," Lucy said, looking to Mira and Cana.

The brunette nodded, her near-death experience already forgotten. "It lasts 24 hours, which I'd say you should be grateful for."

"I guess," the celestial mage replied. At least that meant for her that she wouldn't have to deal with this craziness for much longer. "I'll finally have my Erza back to normal," Lucy sighed, relieved.

"Wait, your Erza?" Cana grinned.

"Th-that's not what I meant! And we're just f-friends!" the blonde protested, but her statement didn't have much of an effect, what with her stuttering and the heat that quickly spread over her cheeks.

"My, my," Mira smiled, "I didn't know just how possessive you are of your friends, Lucy." She winked, showing Lucy just how much she didn't believe her.

"Ugh, you guys," Lucy groaned, turning away from them only to see Gray walking towards her. "Hi Gray," she mumbled, still painfully aware that Mira and Cana were laughing about her. Gray took in the scene, a bit confusedly when he noticed the girls' different expressions before remembering his purpose. "Uh, hey Lucy. I just thought you'd like to know that Erza's been pretty much staring at you."

Lucy quickly turned around fully, quickly spotting said girl who was indeed staring at her. Erza sat at a table several feet away, staring in her direction with a dreamy look on her face. Suffice it to say, Lucy was not prepared to see Erza looking at her like that. "How long has she been staring at me?" Lucy asked, wincing when she realized her voice had risen in pitch, most likely due to her increasing embarrassment. _I might as well get use to the feeling_, she thought bitterly, _'cause it seems that's the only thing I'll be feeling today._

She tore her eyes away from Erza to focus on Gray instead as he answered her. "I'm not really sure. I noticed a few minutes ago and waited to see if she stopped or looked away, but she didn't."

Lucy would've forgotten about her two other friends had they not chosen to speak up to tease her once more. "So your Erza is staring at you huh?" Cana smirked. Lucy ignored the remark, along with Gray's confused look at the word 'your.' Instead she glanced around the guild, careful to not look at the redhead again. Her eyes finally stopped upon another lovestruck gaze, but luckily this time it wasn't directed at her.

"Juvia's looking this way too, Gray," she said, noticing him start to blush as he suddenly found interest in the floor.

"Both of you are being stared at," Mira started, her inner matchmaker showing, "I suggest you two go talk to them. Or I'll have to make you go," she smiled sweetly, somehow managing to be intimidating and threatening at the same time.

"Yeah, go talk to your girlfriend already."

"She's not my girlfriend, Cana!" Lucy and Gray shouted in unison, their faces brightly showing their blush.

Despite their shouting, they walked off without another word.

Lucy couldn't help but see how similar Erza's behavior was to Juvia's. _It's almost as if Erza likes me…_

Shaking her head at that crazy thought, she took a seat beside the requip mage, who's smile only grew when she saw Lucy. Erza's seemingly genuine happiness at just having Lucy with her was almost too much for Lucy to bear; no one had ever seemed this happy to just be with Lucy.

"This is all so weird, isn't it," the blonde mused aloud, meeting Erza's bright eyes.

"What is?" Erza immediately asked, her excitement to be with Lucy showing clearly.

But the other girl merely shook her head. "Anyways, how are you Erza? Do you feel okay?"

Erza seemed to contemplate the question, before she answered. "I feel perfectly normal. Except for my overwhelming happiness at having you here with me, of course."

"W-what? E-erza you can't just go around saying things like t-that," Lucy stuttered. It had been an innocent question, since Lucy had just wanted to know if Erza still felt off as a result of the potion; she hadn't expected the redhead to say something like that, something to make her blush even more. T_hat was pretty smooth though… Ugh what am I even thinking._

The redhead shrugged in response to Lucy's awkwardness. "I'm not going around saying things like that, as you said. You're the only person I said that to, Lucy. Was I not supposed to?" Erza asked, her confusion at Lucy's reaction evident.

"N-nevermind."

_It's just the potion affecting her… I shouldn't pay much attention to what she says. Even if it is pretty sweet._

"Anyways…" Clearing her throat, Lucy changed the subject.

xxx

Cana laughed as she watched her two friends talking. It was obvious that Erza kept saying things that embarrassed Lucy, since the blonde would blush every now and then. Other than that, they seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Cana could see it in their carefree expressions and relaxed postures; she'd become pretty good at reading people, especially since she had Mira's help. Speaking of which…

"Hey Mira, what do you think'll happen?" the card mage asked curiously, since she couldn't help but be very interested in Erza and Lucy's friendship.

Mira, who and been cleaning the counter, stopped her work to answer Cana. She leaned closer to the brunette, resting her chin upon her palm as she did so. "I can't say for sure, but I know something's going to happen. They already have such a close relationship, but I doubt either of them realizes just how close they are. It would be very easy for them to become more than just friends," she finished, looking at the two who she had just been talking about.

"I feel bad about not telling Lucy though," Cana said, her eyes showing just a glint of guilt, "She should know about what the potion actually does."

Mira merely shook her head, eyes meeting Cana's reassuringly. "If we had told her, it would've freaked her out, because she wouldn't know how to react. It's better this way, so don't feel bad about it."

A thoughtful silence enveloped the two, only being broken by the arrival of Lucy and Erza, who were standing just a bit too close, with Erza's arm holding on to Lucy's. "Hey guys, so Erza and I are just gonna head out," the blonde told them, a small smile playing on her lips.

Cana couldn't resist the opportunity, "Both of you, together? And what're you guys gonna do?" she smirked.

"Cana, it's none of our business," Mira scolded, even though they all knew that Mira would get the details from Lucy eventually.

"No, it's fine Mira," Erza interrupted, a smug look on her face. "We are going to Lucy's place."

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><p>AN: Since I am uploading this quickly, I can't reply to all the reviews, but nonetheless they are all greatly appreciated. And many thanks to all who read this.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

I'm terrible for not updating in the longest. I've just not really had time, and I can't seem to even write. To be honest, I don't even know what this chapter is. If y'all are still reading this fanfic, despite my horrible updating, then thank you. And hopefully you'll enjoy whatever this chapter is.

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><p>Chapter 4: Blushing? What, no<p>

The setting sun made everything just the slightest bit darker, a reminder of the passing time. As Lucy walked along with Erza, a comfortable silence settled between the two. Lucy took the opportunity to let her thoughts wander, except they unfortunately wandered back to the moments before she'd begun the walk.

In retrospect, the blonde couldn't find a reason for Cana and Mira to react the way they did. Upon hearing that Erza would go to Lucy's place, Mira had squealed excitedly, a huge smile on her face. Cana had been mildly surprised and confused at first, but those emotions were soon overcome when she smirked and said a few, not-so-subtle sexual remarks. Lucy still didn't see what it was that warranted such reactions. Erza had visited her several times before, not to mention all those times she'd broken in with Natsu and Gray. Yet the redhead seemed unusually excited at the prospect of going home with the younger girl this time. But that was most likely due to the love potion, Lucy reasoned, quickly brushing that thought off.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she glanced at Erza, the older girl walking contentedly beside her. They'd been conversing for quite a while back at the guild, which was actually somewhat normal for the two friends, but the conversation itself had been different. There'd been an air of playfulness and teasing, as usual, but there was also some… tension? Lucy wasn't sure. There had been moments when it seemed that Erza had been flirting with her, saying such comments that Lucy couldn't even reply to, feeling too embarrassed or confused by Erza's words. But even the blonde knew that though she acted put off by the compliments her seemingly lovestruck friend told her, she couldn't say she didn't like it. Especially not when she was looking at Erza. The last rays of sunlight hit the older girl in such a way that she just seemed to glow, her own natural beauty further. _She really is pretty…_

"Lucy?"

Embarrassed at having been caught staring, said celestial mage quickly looked ahead before replying, "Yeah Erza?"

"… Never mind."

Lucy left it at that, not wanting to make the situation anymore awkward, or even worse, creep her friend out.

The two had nearly reached Lucy's apartment when the blonde felt a sudden warmth beside her as Erza took Lucy's arm and linked it with her own, bringing them closer together. _This isn't so bad_, she thought. Although Erza usually gave her hugs, they weren't the type of friends to hold hands or continually be close together for long periods of time before the whole potion thing. While some might find Erza's sudden clinginess annoying, the younger girl couldn't help but find it a bit endearing. Despite herself, she realized it felt nice being close to someone like that.

_Gray's probably lying when he says he doesn't like Juvia getting all close to him_, Lucy mused.

When she suddenly felt Erza pulling away, Lucy knew they must've arrived. She took out her key and soon they were entering her apartment, her holding the door open while Erza walked in, murmuring a quiet "thanks."

The blonde just watched as Erza made herself comfortable, an uneasy feeling rising within her. _Why am I getting nervous? It's just Erza. Ugh, just calm down Lucy._

"So Erza," Lucy started, trying to act normal and ignore her racing heart, "would you like anything?"

A slight shake of the head was offered as an answer, which Lucy acknowledged before sitting beside Erza on her bed. The younger girl glanced at the redhead, wondering if she was the only one who felt like her heart would leap out of her chest. The situation seemed so ridiculous, especially considering the number of times the two girls had been alone together. Yet now somehow seemed completely different. _Maybe it's the fact that I know she's being influenced by a love potion. I can't quite look at her the same way. I'm probably just nervous she'll try and do something she wouldn't normally do…_

Of course, that thought only brought many more incredibly embarrassing thoughts to mind, resulting in Lucy's bright blush on her face.

In an attempt to dispel those, well, inappropriate thoughts from her mind, the blonde cleared her throat, trying to distract herself by striking up a conversation with her friend. "Uhm, well…"

At her words- which were a failure of a conversation starter- Lucy suddenly found her gaze met by piercing dark brown eyes, completely unreadable at that moment. Her breath seemed to be coming harder, as she felt herself falling into the darkness of the redhead's orbs.

"E-Erza."

A barely contained laugh, which Lucy embarrassingly noted was pretty cute. "Our faces are awfully close."

And with the amused tone of Erza's voice, Lucy snapped out of the trance the older girl had put her in. Quickly putting some distance between each other, Lucy felt the blood rush to her face for, what, the millionth time that day? Being with Erza just made her a blushing mess.

"I don't mind being that close to you, Lucy."

The blonde sighed resignedly upon hearing the teasing tone once more. If she'd been an observer instead of actually part of this whole love potion mess, the requip mage's behavior would be quite funny. _This is gonna be a long night… of blushing._

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><p>After several more moments of suffering for Lucy, Erza finally stopped teasing her. Somewhat. The younger girl stood, walking towards her desk to take a seat there, farther away from the redhead. Lucy felt incredibly awkward, not knowing what to say or do. Usually she'd make idle chitchat with Erza, talking about anything and everything with the conversation flowing freely; that's the kind of friendship they had, after all. With Erza's weird behavior and unrestrained affection, however, Lucy felt unsure on how <em>she<em> was supposed to behave now; it'd been easier to talk back at the guild, to pretend that everything was normal, but now they were completely alone. Did she just ignore the teasing or go along with it? Was she supposed to also ignore the way Erza looked at her, with a genuine smile and bright eyes? Was she also supposed to pretend her heart didn't flutter in her chest at her friend's obvious love towards her?

_No._

It was all just because of a stupid love potion. Nothing else.

So there was no reason to even think too much into the matter.

Shaking her head slightly, the blonde reached out and picked up a book she'd left on her desk earlier. She opened it to where the bookmark poked out, indicating the last page she'd read.

She heard the bed shift as Erza stood up, coming closer to her. "What're you reading, Lucy?" the redhead asked, peering over her shoulder at the open book on the celestial mage's lap.

Lucy felt herself tense just the slightest bit at Erza's close proximity before replying. "A book," she answered, relaxing since the conversation seemed safe enough.

She heard the requip mage chuckle. "Well, what's it about?"

"It's just a love story. Y'know, the usual girl meets boy, everything changes and she realizes she's fallen for him. It's pretty obvious that they'll end up together and live happily ever after, though." Lucy flipped through the pages mindlessly, comforted in the feeling of paper.

"If the plot and ending are that obvious, then why read it?"

The blonde looked up, her fingers stopping their movement as she considered her answer. Erza had posed an interesting question. Meeting her friend's gaze, Lucy felt the corners of her mouth pull up into a smile. "It's still interesting. The way they meet and end up falling for each other despite everything, their feelings which would make them do anything for each other, it's all so simple yet real." Chuckling, she added, "it also kinda gives me hope that someday I'll find that one person who's meant for me, however unrealistic that is."

Erza shook her head, eyes never leaving Lucy's. "It's not unrealistic. Everyone wants to find someone," she whispered.

Clearing her throat, Lucy realized how hot her body felt. "Uh, yeah." Wasting no time in turning away from the redhead, she placed the book back on her desk, then got up. "I'm just gonna get some water," she muttered, moving towards the kitchen.

In the safety of the empty kitchen, she inhaled deeply, exhaling as she leaned against the wall and felt her eyes shut. With her mind replaying the moment with Erza, who had been so close to her, with such an intense gaze, and her words, Lucy found it hard not to blush.


End file.
